


Battements du Coeur

by DeceasedRaven



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 09:57:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17764607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeceasedRaven/pseuds/DeceasedRaven
Summary: Movie Theater AU // Eliott works at an indie movie theater and Lucas goes to see a movie for a class project.





	Battements du Coeur

This was the stupidest assignment of all time. 

“Examine the history of protest in France through the lens of a contemporary cultural artifact,” his teacher had said, and really, what did that even mean?

Their project proposals were due yesterday, and even though the project was worth most of this semester’s grade, Lucas had failed to come up with a single idea. His teacher pulled him aside after class.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. 

Lucas turned red. God, he should have just sucked it up and found something stupid. 

“You’re one of my best students,” continued his teacher. “And I’m not just saying that. Why don’t you have anything?”

Lucas picked at his sleeves. “I dunno, guess I wasn’t inspired,” Lucas muttered to the floor.

“Can I offer a suggestion?” his teacher asked, pushing up his glasses. 

Lucas nodded.

“There’s a beautiful old cinema not too far from here. It was reconstructed two years ago, and they really did a remarkable job.”

Lucas squinted and tried to understand what this had to do with him.

“They’re showing a film this weekend that would fit perfectly within the confines of the project.”

Lucas opened his mouth to object, but as if reading his mind, his teacher continued. 

“Don’t worry about a ticket. You can use my yearly membership card.” He stood up, brushed the chalk off of his ugly brown cords, and patted Lucas on the back. “Well, that’s all settled then, isn’t it? I’ll shoot you an email with the details.”

So here Lucas found himself, in front of the cinema on a Saturday night instead of at a party with his friends. He had considered asking one of them to join him, but lately it felt like work to hang out. It sucked to feel that way, and Lucas couldn’t really pinpoint why he did, but sometimes it felt easier to breathe when he was on his own.

He ducked inside out of the gritty, humid night. Cool air settled on his skin, and he shivered against the goosebumps. He approached the ticket counter and pulled out his phone to check the email from his teacher.

“Hi. I’d like one ticket for 100 battements par minute. Here’s my, um, membership card,” Lucas said, holding it out awkwardly.

“Good choice.”

Lucas looked up for the first time and made eye contact with the guy behind the counter. Then promptly dropped his card. 

“Shit, sorry,” he said, fumbling to pick it up. He passed it over and inhaled sharply when he felt the slightest brush of the guy’s fingers against his. 

“Here’s your ticket, and your card Jean-Francois Auguste,” the guy said, passing back his things.

Lucas starred, utterly confused.

“Jean-Francois? Isn’t that your name?”

Lucas blushed and grabbed his ticket. “Oh. No. It’s Lucas. I mean, that’s what I go by. Jean-Francois, is my real name, I guess…”

The guy laughed and Lucas couldn’t help but stare.

“Man, don’t worry about it. I’m not about to get you in trouble for wanting to go see a really dope movie. I don’t get paid enough for that. Actually, come on, I’m switching shifts, which means I’m starting the movie.”

A coworker that Lucas hadn’t seen slipped in behind the guy, who walked down the hall without even looking back at Lucas, as if confident he would follow him no matter what.

Which, well. Lucas would.

He followed him into the dark.

In the movie theater, the guy had disappeared. Lucas was alone, so he found a seat in the middle near the front. He settled back and realized he had no idea what the movie was even about. Something about protest, obviously, but maybe he should have brought a notebook or something? To take notes? He found an old pamphlet in his jacket and was digging through his pockets for a pen, when someone sat down beside him with an ‘oomph’. 

“No eating in the theater,” said the guy and Lucas almost jumped out of his skin.

“Fuck, you scared me,” he said. “Also, I’m not trying to sneak candy in or anything. I have to take notes for class.”

“Ooh, studious,” said the guy with a smirk, and Lucas felt his ears warm.

“Shouldn’t you be doing something right now? At least I don’t slack on the job.”

The guy pushed his shoulder into Lucas, and Lucas’ whole body warmed from the contact. “If you haven’t noticed, you’re pretty much our only customer, and I’m just making sure that our clientele with membership cards get the five-star experience.”

Lucas couldn’t help but smile. Damn it. There was just something about this guy that was getting to him.

“And the movie?” he asked. “Who’s supposed to start it?’

“It’s mostly automated. It should start any minute-”

And as if on cue, the lights dimmed and the commercials started to play. Lucas wondered if the guy intended to stay next to him the whole movie. He was so close, and it was getting so dark, and they were all alone in the theater.

“I don’t even know your name,” Lucas said, and it came out sounding almost, flirty? Which wasn’t what he intended and he tried to think of a way to backtrack, but the guy was leaning closer and staring straight into his eyes and Lucas felt pinned to the back of his chair.

“How rude of me. Eliott. Nice to meet you.” 

Eliott held out his hand and Lucas grabbed it and they shook once, twice, three times, and then stopped shaking and were kind of just, holding hands? Lucas realized, yanked his arm away and clutched his arm rest tightly. Eliott chuckled and Lucas tried not to melt at the sound. 

He wanted to hear it again.

The commercials faded out and the movie started to play. Lucas willed himself to pay attention. He needed a good grade on this project, and he really didn’t want to let down his teacher after he had gone so out of his way to help him. But it turned out Lucas didn’t even need to force himself to stay awake. The movie was really interesting and had super cool cinematography and Lucas already had a million ideas for his paper. The movie was also really, well. It was really gay. Lucas froze the first time two guys kissed on screen, and he had to will himself not to look at Eliott. Did it mean something, that Eliott thought this was a great movie? 

Lucas told himself that of course not, Eliott was probably just some sort of film buff and that he was reading way too much into it. Although teasing a stranger and sitting right next to him in an otherwise empty, dark movie theatre couldn’t be totally straight, right? Lucas’ mind felt like it was racing in every direction, until Eliott shifted his arm so that his bare skin touched Lucas’ and he stopped thinking anything at all. 

Lucas snuck a glance at Eliott, who was already looking at him. He smiled and didn’t look at all embarrassed to be caught staring.

Lucas bit his lip against his own smile and swiveled back to the screen. Looking at Eliott for too long was practically impossible. He was so beautiful, it was blinding. 

Shit. Beautiful. He had just thought the word beautiful about a guy, which was weird and uncomfortable, and Eliott's foot was tapping the back of his calf and it felt so good, Lucas stopped caring about whether this was strange. For once, he was going to let go of the pressure and the self-judgement, and just enjoy the moment.

Despite the whole distraction that was Eliott next to him, casually touching him, catching his eye every so often, and generally making Lucas buzz with nervous energy, Lucas got really into the film. So into it, that despite his best efforts to hold them in, tears sprung to his eyes as the movie came to a close. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, and he leaned into it unconsciously, trying to block out the part of him that told him this was a bad idea. Eliott was warm and Lucas kind of just wanted to snuggle into all of him, but he settled for leaning on his shoulder, before pulling away when his tears subsided. 

“Sorry,” he said. He was embarrassed to find that his voice was slightly hoarse. “I usually never cry at movies.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Eliott's lips. “I always cry at movies. But usually in a refined, manly sort of way. This one, though, the first time I saw it, I bawled like a baby.”

Funnily enough, Lucas could totally picture Eliott doing so. He seemed like the sort of person who didn’t give a shit about what anyone else thought, and Lucas was a little jealous of him for it.

“What did you think?” Eliott asked.

“I’m not sure I exactly liked it…” Lucas trailed off. “It’s more like it made me feel things I haven’t felt before? Or in such a quick succession and in a way that makes you think deeper about things you take for granted and never thought about before? That probably sounds stupid.” 

Eliott shook his head and looked serious. “Not at all, that’s pretty much exactly what I felt, too.”

The credits cut off and Lucas became aware of how enormous the emptiness and the silence in the theater was. Eliott's gaze was steady on him, and Lucas thought he might die from the tension.

“Come on,” Eliott said suddenly, jumping out of his seat. “I want to show you something.”

Again, Lucas followed Eliott. This time Eliott did look back at him, and his face held a million promises. Or at least, Lucas hoped it held a million promises. He still wasn’t sure this whole thing wasn’t just in his head. 

Eliott opened a door that otherwise blended into the wall and filed up a thin staircase. They were funneled through to what Lucas’ assumed was the theater’s booth due to the equipment and projector lining the front wall. It extended way further then Lucas would have expected, though, and he followed Elliot as he pushed back behind a curtain into a curiously airy, warmly lit space. There were layered rugs and bean bag chairs and a worn-out, comfortable looking couch. 

What caught Lucas’ attention, though, was what was behind the couch. A huge floor to ceiling mural filled the space, and Lucas scanned the wall to make sense of it. It was a little abstract and hard to make out, but completely breathtaking all the same. There was darkness in one corner, which sort of looked like a tunnel, and someone, or something coming out of it. A guy, who looked a little like Eliott, was depicted on the other side, reaching out to the person. Brilliant blues and grays rained down on the pair from above and Lucas couldn’t look away. There was something a little sad, but deeply beautiful about it. 

“I don’t know, I thought you might like it,” Eliott said, looking almost embarrassed, for the first time since Lucas had met him. “It’s essentially a still from a movie I’m working on.”

“It’s beautiful,” Lucas said, quietly. Something inside of him broke open at the slow smile that spread out on Eliott's face. “What’s it called?’

“Polaris,” Eliott said. “Like the north star. My movie is a love story between two people who are trying to find each other amidst darkness. I’ve always heard people talk about Polaris as a symbol for freedom and light, so it seemed fitting.” 

“Polaris,” Lucas repeated and took a step closer to Elliot.

Eliott reached out tentatively to brush aside a curl in Lucas’ hair. Lucas closed his eyes at the feeling and took the step that closed the last open space between them. 

“Lucas?” he heard Eliott say. 

“Yeah?” he asked. Everything in him was vibrating in a massive, tangled ball of light that threatened to burst out of him at any second.

There was pressure on his lips and it took him a split second to realize Eliott was kissing him. For one moment, all Lucas felt was panic, but then Eliott sighed and gently opened his mouth and they were really kissing and Lucas imagined the light shining out of him so brightly, people on the street could see him. Eliott's hands caressed his waist and Lucas shivered. 

“Cold?” Eliott asked, with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Lucas said, and pushed Eliott back to the couch.

Eliott sank down, and not even recognizing himself in that moment, Lucas climbed on top of him. Lucas never did this. He was never so open and forward about what he wanted, but the freedom that was buzzing inside him made anything seem possible. 

Lucas had no idea how much time passed when he finally pulled back from Eliott and slid beside him on the couch to curl up beneath his arm. Eliott was looking at him with a kind of dazed expression on his face and Lucas couldn’t stop thinking about how he was the reason for that look. 

“I should probably go home at some point,” he said unconvincingly.

“Nonsense,” said Eliott. “We have food and water and about a thousand movies to watch, so there’s no reason to ever leave.”

Lucas laughed and moved his head onto Elliot's chest. He could hear the beating of his heart. 

“We can see each other again, you know,” he said, summoning bravery he didn’t know he had. “At least, I would like to see you again.”

“Yeah?” breathed Eliott into his ear.

“Yeah. You never told me how the movie ends," Lucas said.

Elliot hugged him close and Lucas closed his eyes. 


End file.
